KUALA LUMPUR – Bursa Malaysia trended higher in early trade today, tracking the positive cue from a stronger performance on Wall Street on Friday, according to an analyst.
At 9.06am, the FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI (FBM KLCI) gained 4.79 points to 1,594.38 from Friday’s close of 1,589.59.
The benchmark index opened 2.21 points better at 1,591.80.
On the broader market, gainers led decliners 292 to 128, while 301 counters were unchanged, 1,594 untraded and 16 others suspended.
Turnover amounted to 282.43 million units worth RM109.91 million.
Rakuten Trade Sdn Bhd equity research vice-president Thong Pak Leng said Wall Street finished higher after a lower-than-expected job data reinforces traders’ belief to see softer inflationary pressure that may lead to Federal Reserve rate adjustments.
On the home front, he said the FBM KLCI’s uptrend has been relentless since mid-April as the accumulation of blue chips continues by both local institutions and foreign funds.
“The benchmark index, which currently hovers around a 52-week high, is anticipated to trend higher, underpinned by reasonable valuations.
“We believe a decisive breakout from the 1,600 level is required as this has been a tough resistance to topple,” he said, adding that the index is likely to trend between the 1,590-1,600 range today.
Among the heavyweight counters, Maybank and Public Bank each added three sen to RM9.83 and RM4.15, CIMB rose two sen to RM6.67, Tenaga Nasional gained 8 sen to RM12.40, while IHH Healthcare was flat at RM6.29.
As for the actives, Iconic and Ingenieur both rose half a sen to 11 sen and 12 sen, SNS inched up 2.5 sen to 42 sen, and Berjaya Corp added 1 sen to 29.5 sen.
On the index board, the FBM emas index was 38.18 points higher to 12,008.29, the FBMT 100 index advanced 33.02 points to 11,630.14, the FBM 70 index climbed 39.76 points to 16,776.78, the FBM ACE index gained 20.49 points to 5,155.04 and the FBM emas shariah index added 25.25 points to 12,218.55.
Sector-wise, the financial services index advanced 63.36 points to 17,353.77 and the industrial products and services index edged up 0.75 of a point to 191.59, while the energy index declined 0.61 of a point to 966.24 and the plantation index slipped 6.20 points to 7,413.67. – May 6, 2024